LISBON (PORTUGAL) (ITALPRESS) – “We are awaiting the sentence, but once we know it we will put it aside and think about the match. Today is an important day both for the ruling and for better preparing for tomorrow’s match which would allow us to access the semi-finals”. Massimiliano Allegri and his Juventus remain focused on Sporting and on the return of the Europa League quarter-finals despite the hearing on the Bianconeri’s appeal against -15 for the capital gains case being held today at the Guarantee College before Thursday. Better then to focus on the pitch, with Juve starting from a 1-0 draw at the Stadium: “We have an important goal, not a simple one, because Sporting eliminated Arsenal and also showed in the first leg that they are an excellent team at level of organization and with good players. We mustn’t think about the result of the first leg but we must play a one-off match, we must play better technically, with personality, ball speed and serenity, the game is long and there will be some difficulties”. Allegri asks his “willingness on everyone’s part, they will try to give pressure from the start. You need to have great patience against the Portuguese and know that in this stadium, with the fans pushing, you need to have an important impact on the match. Nostalgia for the Champions League? No, this is an important competition which, by winning it, would allow us to have access to the Champions League. And then it would be a satisfaction for the whole group that is working to create the conditions to bring home a trophy. There are two left, the Europa League and the Italian Cup, and it’s not easy. Winning is an extraordinary thing, I understand that after nine years of victories Juve had made it a normal thing but it’s not like that”. As for formation, no problem for Szczesny and Rabiot, “I have a doubt in attack linked to Chiesa and one in midfield”.
Towards a starting shirt Alex Sandro, back skilled and enlistable. “I’m fine, I’ve had a good week of training so I feel available for tomorrow’s match”, assures the Brazilian, who like Allegri does not want to be distracted by what is happening in Rome: “The lawyers are working there and the club, we have to think only of this game, we have to play our best and go through. Hopefully we can get those 15 points back in the league, but now we’re thinking about Sporting and the Europa League and that’s it.” The stakes are high, in the first leg it ended 1-0 for the bianconeri, but the Portuguese put the Lady in difficulty on several occasions. “We have to do better in scoring, even in the preventive ones, but – explains Alex Sandro – we also need to do better in the offensive phase. Sporting are a fast team, they have a good attack, they make a lot of possession, we will certainly have to do better than in the first leg”. Then a joke about Fagioli’s tears after the mistake costing the defeat against Sassuolo: “Sometimes it’s good to cry. We have to respect Fagioli’s and everyone’s reaction after victories and defeats. Fagioli is young but he already has experience. He is not the future but the present of Juve.”
– foto LivePhotoSport –
(ITALPRESS).
